Chicago, chicago that toddling town, Chicago, Chicago I'll show you around-I love it.

SING IT TO ME FRANKIE!!!!

Chicago, chicago that toddling town
Chicago, chicago Ill show you around - I love it
Bet your bottom dollar youll lose the blues in chicago
The town that billys sunday could not shut down

On state street that great street I just want to say
They do things that they dont do on broadway - say
They have the time the time of their life
I say a man and he danced with his wife
In chicago, my home town

Ole' Blue eyes steals the words right out of my open mouth.

Well, I just love Chicago. I love the feeling I get when I step out of the train station, look up at the sky and see all the buildings and hear all the traffic noises. I see the hustle and bustle and it is just so cool. Every corner is a Walgreens. Every corner is a Starbucks. Every corner is a McDonalds. THe lake, the parks, everything. I love it all. I wish every single one of you could experience the way I experience it.

So I thought that I would today put a tour guide do's and don'ts for you guys.

CHICAGO MAGPIE STYLE!!!!
Transportation:
I would say your best bet is the train. Otherwise, in driving you might hit traffic. Then your journey to the city will be longer than anticipated because some duck decided to cross the highway, build a nest in the 3rd lane and have some babies there. Or that a garbage truck decided that it fell in love with a semi truck. Not cool. Plus you have to spend money to park. Geez, $20...nuts. One time, I went to Navy pier. I spent $20 to park. Ended up staying for only 5 minutes. Craziness. Plus to park in the city is setting your self up for trouble.

One time someone was parking and the way they knew that they were ok in the parallel parking spot was to hit the car in front and then behind and then hit the one in front again. No worth it. Totally not worth it.

So my advice, take a train, bus or walk...

Walking:
Now, if you are walking downtown with me, be assured of a good stretch of the legs...literally. I pretty much speedwalk the whole time. City walk, I call it. It is fun to walk around dodging the crowds. Kinda like a game...make it to the lake without knocking anyone over or getting knocked over. Awesomeness.

When at crosswalks, you can do one of two things. If you are a professional crosswalker like me you can look both ways and cross regardless of if the little white dude is lit up. Or you can be normal and just wait until it is safe to cross AKA when the little white dude pops up. Or you can just run across the street. I don't suggest that unless you want a one way ticket to Northwestern Hospital ;)

There are grates on the sidewalks of Chicago. I always walk over them or around them. I suggest you do the same. Don't walk on them. Never trust them. I mean seriously people. What if you fall through it? What if they break? What then? You will fall and break a leg or something. Not cool. And some of them are deep. I always walk around them. If there is no other option, I'll jump over them. One time here was this real huge one and there was no way to get around it. I had to cross it twice: once going to the lake and once coming back. So, I went on the building's edge. That was pretty easy. I just wouldn't take your life into your hands like that. But that is my suggestion.

Dressing:
Dressing is an important thing to do right. Wear something comfortable. Do not walk around dowtown in these:
























or these:
























your feet will look like this:



























Wear something comfortable seriously.

Windy city=unpredictable weather. Dress in layers if it is a transitional season.

Winter: dress like this:


























In the summer dress like this:



























Just kidding...you can dress normal.

PLACES TO SEE:


MACY'S VS. MARSHALL FIELDS

It will always ALWAYS and FOREVER be Marshall Fields. Not Macy's....ever.... THE END. ALPHA AND OMEGA....done.

Soldier's Field
Home of the best football team in the Nation. :P Packers eat your heart out...at least WE have bears...not men who pack raw bloody cold gross meat. How pathetic...Packers <_<>Millenium Park
I have heard so many concerts there. Very cool structural design. The bridge is totally boss. My dream is to slide down the bridge. But there are always security guards up and about. Secretly knowing my plot....they follow me around....creepy. They have their night sticks. I tend not to mess with them. And they also have those wheely two wheeled bikes standing things. They would zip me right over.

Plus they have :o :o THE BEAN!!!!!

THE BEAN!!!!

The most useless structure ever...BUT SOOOOOOOOOO COOOL!

I once kissed the bean. It was so beautiful. It is all shiny and globular and reflecty. It reflects the whole skyline. And you. Awesomeness.

Water Tower Place
It is the only place that survived the Chicago fire....except for the rivers. But if you think about it. The water in the river is different than the water that ran in the past. Or is it????

If the water evaporated...rained down in Wisconsin and then flowed through Chicago then technically it could be the same water, couldn't it be?

Well then, we have come to a conclusion. Or at least I have. The river water and the Water Tower in Chicago both survived the Chicago Fire. Awesome. I want to drink that water now. Maybe I could survive fire then.

Anways,
I think that is all for now...let me know if you guys are coming up to Chicago. I'll show you around :))

Magpie.